Internal-combustion engine



N. T. COLLINS.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12. I920.

1,372,644. I Patented 12,1921.

"Ay A I Q WITNESSES Q INVENTOR W NZ'CoZIz'as MW ayjgimd A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

Application filed Kay 11, 1920. Serial No. 380,503.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NATHANIEL T. Coimms, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Internal- Combustion Engine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in internal combustion engines, an object of the invention being to provide improved means for holding the compression of the gas mixture in the combustion chamber at the desired or proper pressure while the engine passes over top center.

A further object is to provide an internal combustion engine with an auxiliary cylinder and iston, the said cylinder communicating with the main cylinder of the engine, and the piston and the auxiliary cylinder controlled by the crank shaft through the medium of improved operating means, so as to hold the compression for eflicient results.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, and combinations and arrangements of parts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view in vertical longitudinal section illustrating my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating my improved connection between the drive shaft of the engine and the connecting rod of the auxiliary cylinder piston.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

A represents an ordinary L-head internal combustion engine having a cylinder 1 with a piston 2 mounted to reciprocate therein and connected by a rod 3 with the crank pin 4 of the drive shaft 5. This drive shaft 5 is mounted in a crank case 6, which also communicates with in improved auxiliary cylinder 7 the latter eing located parallel with the main cylinder 1 and having a piston or plunger 8 therein.

The engine A is provided with the ordinary intake valve 9 and an exhaust valve 10 and with the ordinary Spark plug 11 communicating with the combustion chamber 12 at 'the end of cylinder 1.

It will be noted, particularly by reference to Fig. 1, that the auxiliary cylinder 7 at its upper end is in direct communication with the explosive or combustion chamber 12 and that the piston 8 has a movement which extends to the upper end of the cylinder 7 so as to force the explosive mixture from said cylinder 7 into the chamber 12 when the piston 8 is in its highest position.

A bracket 13 is rigidly secured to the crank case 6 and is made with two pairs of tracks 14. These tracks 14 extend an approximate angle to a horizontal and are of the general shape shown so as to provide a fixed path for the travel of a pin 15. This pin 15 is projected through the bifurcated lower end 16 of a connecting rod 17, the latter pivotally connected to the piston 8 of auxiliary cylinder 7.

An arm 18 is pivotally connected, as shown at 19. to a fixed bracket 20 at the bottom of crank case 6 and the upper end of this arm 18 is connected by a link 21 with the pin 15. This link 21 is positioned in the bifurcated lower end 16 of the rod 17, and said pin 15 is preferably provided with a bushing or sleeve 22 sustaining the contact of the link 21 and the connecting rod 17.

Rollers 23 are provided on the ends of the pin 15 and these rollers 23 are curved or convex in longitudinal section and ride against the concave faces 24 of the tracks 14. Nuts 25 are screwed onto the threaded ends 26 of the pin 15 and securely couple the parts together.

As above stated, the arm 18 and the link 21 are pivotally connected and this connection is formed by means of a pivot pin 27 which also receives one end of a link 28, the other end of said link 28 having pivotal or rotary connection with the crank pin 4 of drive shaft 5.

The operation is as follows: When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the combustion or explosion has just taken place and the piston 2 is beginning its compression stroke. This downward movement of the piston 2 imparts rotary motion to the drive shaft 5 through the medium of connecting rod 3, causing the crank pin 4 to swing in the arc of a circle, as indicated by the dot and dash line in Fig. 1. As the crank pin 4 moves through its first quarter, it will, through the medium of link 28, pivot pin 27, lever or arm 18, and link 21, draw the pivot pin 15 to the right, but this movement will be slight.

On the up-stroke of piston 2, which is the exhaust stroke thereof, the crank pin 4 in its movement through another quarter of its turn will, through the medium of the abovementioned parts, force the pin 15 to the left, and due to the engagement of said pin with the tracks 14, the connecting rod 17 will be returned to substantially the position shown in Fig. 1.

During the next stroke or suction stroke of the piston 2, the crank pin & will move through the third quarter of its turn and will, through the medium of the parts above described, force the pin 15 to the extreme of its left-hand movement, which will, due to the angular disposition of the tracks 1a, draw the auxiliary piston 8 downwardly so that this piston 8 will cooperate with the piston 2 in sucking the charge in the engine.

On the next stroke of the piston 2, which is the compression stroke, the crank pin 4 will move through the fourth quarter of its turn and will draw the connecting pin 15 to the right, thus forcing the auxiliary piston toward the upper end of the cylinder 7 and ejecting the gas therein into the explosive chamber 12.

The parts'are so arranged that the piston 8 will continue its upward movement slightly longer than the upward movement of the engine piston 2 so that the latter will have time to pass over top center and begin its downward movement. The movement of the piston 8 during this passing over the top of piston 2 will be sufficiently great to overcome any diminution of pressure in the combustion chamber 12 and the spark from plug 11 will be timed so as to explode the mixture just after the piston 2 starts its downward stroke with the mixture under full compression by reason of the movement of the auxiliary piston 8. The spark can, of course, be timed so as to give the desired control of the engine, but with my improved arrangement of parts, it is desirable that the spark take place just after the piston 2 begins its down stroke.

While I have illustrated a particular form of track 14: which constitutes a guide to cause the pin 15 to move in the proper path, it is obvious that this guiding means can be varied in structure and the only essential being to cause the pin 15 to take the proper path to control the movement of the auxiliary piston 8 by means of the crank drive shaft 5.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of parts described without departing from the invention, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of an auxiliary cylinder communicating with said engine, a iston in the auxiliary cylinder, a fixed gui e, a rod secured to said piston and controlled in its movement by said guide, and means operatively connecting the rod with the internal combustion engine.

2. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a main cylinder, a reciprocating piston therein, a crank shaft, and a connecting rod between the crank shaft and the piston, of an auxiliary cylinder communicating with the ex losion or combustion end of the main cy inder, a piston in the auxiliary cylinder, a connecting rod secured to said last-mentioned piston, a guide controlling the movement of the lower end of said connecting rod, and means operatively connecting the lower end of said last-mentioned connecting rod with the crank shaft. 7

3. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a main cylinder, a reciprocating piston therein, a crank shaft, and a connecting rod between the crank shaft and the piston, of an auxiliary cylinder communicating with the explosion or combustion end of the main cylinder, a piston in the auxiliary cylinder, 9. connecting rod secured to said last-mentioned piston, a guide controlling the movement of the lower end of said connecting rod, a pivotally supported arm, a link pivotally connecting the arm with said last-mentioned connecting rod, and a second link connecting the arm with the crank shaft.

4. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a main cylinder, a reciprocating piston therein, a crank shaft, and a connecting rod between the crank shaft and the piston, of an auxiliary cylinder communicating at its upper end with the upper end of the main cylinder, a fixed guide, a pin mounted to move in said fixed guide, a connecting rod connected to the pin, a piston in the auxiliary cylinder pivotally connected to said last-mentioned connecting rod, and means operatively connecting said pin with said crank shaft, whereby said pin is moved in the guide to cause a reciprocation of the last-mentioned piston when the crank shaft is turned.

5. An internal combustion engine, comprising a main cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, a crank shaft, a connecting rod between the piston and the crank shaft, and said engine having a compression chamber at one end of said cylinder, an auxiliary cylinder communicating at one end with said compression chamber, a piston in the compression cylinder. a guide, a pin movable in said guide, a rod connecting the pin with the piston of the auxiliary cylinder, and means operatively connecting the crank shaft with said pin.

6. An internal combustion engine, comprising a main c linder, a piston in the cylinder, a crank s aft, a connecting rod between the piston and the crank shaft, and said engine havin a com ression chamber at one end of said cylin er, an auxilia cylinder communicatin at one end wit said compression cham er, a piston in the compression cylinder, a guide, a pin movable in said guide, a rod connecting the in with the piston of the auxiliary cylin er, said last-mentioned piston having a movement beyond the extreme upward movement of the firstmentioned iston, and means operatively connecting sald pin with the crank shaft, whereby the pistons are caused to move in synchronism.

7. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of an auxiliary cylinder communicating with the cylinder of said engine, a piston in the auxiliary cylinder, a fixed guide, a connecting rod secured to the piston of the auxiliary cylinder and havin its lower end mounted in the guide an its movement controlled by the guide, and means operatively connecting the lower end of said connecting rod with the said internal combustion en 'ne.

8. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of an auxiliary cylinder having its upper end communicating with the explosive or compression end of the engine, a crank case, a drive shaft operated by the engine and located in the crank case, a bracket fixedly secured in the crank case, two pairs of tracks on the bracket, a piston in the auxiliary cylinder, a connecting rod on said piston, a pin located in the lower end of the connecting rod, rollers on said pin engaging the said tracks, an arm ivotally connected to the lower portion of t e crank case, a link pivotall connected to said in, a pivot pin pivota ly connecting the ink and the arm, and a second link connecting tlfie fltast-mentioned pivot pin with the crank s a NATHANIEL TAYLOR COLLINS. 

